#5 Geo’s Media Blog (Young Turks) New 9/14/20

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Back in the day when Mike McVay and I were “Young Turks,” we got into the consulting business around the same time. (Mike pictured above wearing the Heritage medal he was recently awarded)

After launching KVIL in the early ’70s, WRMF in the late ’70s, I was well aware as we hit the’80s and I was getting ready to launch “Class” in San Antonio that there were two types of AC.

Mike’s version was very smooth, whereas mine was more in your face which meant that there was room for both in any given market so of course Mike and I did battle quite often and radio was the better for it.

Sometimes Mike would win and sometimes I would, but I now realize that my winning depended on whether or not our morning man had a shot at ending up in the Hall of Fame. Mike’s winning depended on whether or not the folks remembered not only the call letters but that they even heard his radio station.

One of the ways Mike got that done was with his brilliant TV commercials.
The spot featured the music you usually heard in drugstores with the killer close, “Whenever you hear this kind of music, your listening to Magic 1- oh – whatever.” Wow, well played Mike.
Another thing of Mike’s that I borrowed for a few years, ok, a decade or so was the research mailer he did in Louisville which the legendary Jack McCoy got me hip to.(pictured with me above)
However, as I said, Mike did a research mailer, but as I told Jack, “There’s no way I can get this by Hilliard (Jim Hilliard) without a contest being tied to it.”
When we did our mailer we included a sweepstakes contest similar to one I had come up in the early ’70s  at WIBC in Indy called the “Magic Ticket.”
The sweepstakes mailer was extremely successful and before long it morphed into “The Checks In The Mail.” Then when we put the Magic Ticket together with Jack’s Last Contest, it became the Incredible Prize Catalog which I launched at KOGO in San Diego
The Prize Catalog became so successful that it bought Jack McCoy three 65 ft ocean-going yachts which he kept docked in St. Thomas, Boston,  and the one he lived on in San Diego.

Oh, and how did I do? Well, I did get to buy a nice villa on Coronado Island, a few cool cars, and a radio station, K103 in Portland Or. Thanks, Mike, and Happy Birthday.

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

Beethoven may have invented the first riff but Chuck Berry made them popular.

The best are seldom affected by the economy.

Sometimes even good news sounds bad when said by certain people. I remember when my folks would drive to Grandforks on the weekend which was a hundred and forty-five miles from Winnipeg, just for the spectacular service provided by the Americans. What happened?

So far I’ve experienced three musical phenomenons, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. They all rose from humble blue-collar beginnings but only Frank did it with class.

Success grants access.

Who came up with, Drug Dealers, Gangsters, Rapists, Thieves, and Murderers, should have an easier time in court than the prosecutors? The defense only has to convince one juror that the accused is innocent, whereas the prosecutor has to convince twelve that they’re not.

The only folks crazy enough to attack America were the Japanese and the Arabs. But then again, maybe they were just stupid? 

The reward for surviving is suddenly you’re just old.

Amazon has spoiled it for all the other online companies. If they don’t get it to me in a couple of days, I become very annoyed.

What’s up with the fake crowd noise on the NFL games?

Speaking of noise, I guess Drew Brees and Bill Belichick showed Brady that a little more attention to details on his part may be in order huh?

 

COMMENTS

Joe Tobin: My classic moment with a customer “service” guy from India: I asked him his name, he replied: “Roy.” When I asked him to spell it, he very hesitantly said “R….O……..I ??” (The Citi Saga)

Tim Byrd: Ahh, the wit and wisdom of George Johns, pretty much factual and always entertaining. I’ll have a Corona with two limes, please…too soon? Lol, always nice to read your stuff. Stay well, George! (Geo’s Father’s Day Adventure)
Geo: Thanks for checking in, Tim, I still remember the excellent work we did together at WRMF.

Paul Cavenaugh: Wow, George. You had the best customer service experience a Bank could possibly offer! Only a month? You big shots always get special treatment! After my parents passed away about 10 years ago, I fought with DirecTV for 6 solid months before those creeps finally backed off on their $200 “Early Termination Fee”.
By the way, those aren’t New Yorker honking horns. Those are Miami drivers trying to get the heck out of there! (The City Saga)

Syd Hepworth: Hey George, reading your stuff here at the lake after a long day of trim work on the new, bigger cabin for the kids four years back and read your thought on what will happen to the Democrats if, after all the bullshit, Trump is reelected. I think if that were to happen, it would be the end of traditional American politics – at least as we see it from afar. Belated father’s day greetings from your old teammate #46 (Geo’s Father’s Day Adventure)
Geo: Hey, Syd, old #52 here. Thanks for the read, and also, thanks for the reminder about how much I used to enjoy my many summers at the lake back home in the motherland.
As to your point, the world has changed many times, and it’s about to do so again because of the virus. However, what hasn’t changed is the politics nor the school system, they’re still back in the dark ages.
 


One thought on “#5 Geo’s Media Blog (Young Turks) New 9/14/20

  1. Bill Gardner: I fondly remember being invited to the club at the top of the Mandalay Bay here in Las Vegas when you two finally met face to face the first time! Memorable moments.
    Undoubtedly two of the biggest impact players radio has known. Two of the brightest.
    From an on air talent point of view, I know you and Mike both respect it. But where you say, “We’ve got to hire this guy,” I think Mike says, “I have strategies to be competitive without him.” And as you said, sometimes you each made the right call. I may be partial, but I think we had more wins than losses. (Young Turks)
    Geo: Thanks for the read and the comment, Brutha Bill! When Mike and I were battling, Radio was winning the war.

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